Let us think about hand hygiene and nail scrub brushes.
Part of the Gov guidance for re-opening after lockdown, and also the Habia Code of Practice, recommends nail scrub brushes to be available at the hand wash basin with a recommendation that every client uses a clean one at the end of a hand washing protocol.
Why? Is it necessary?
Well, yes it is. It is part of medical hand cleansing before using disposable gloves. Also, every client should do this. It is very easy to search ‘pathogens under nails’ to put you off your sandwich! It’s horrific! So why should nail pros be the ones to dig around and clean out the rubbish under there? Also, many nail services can seal in the grime under the free edge.
The area is called the subungual region and is home to 100’s of thousands of bacteria and parasites! Eeeeekkkk! It is a perfect environment for pathogens to live and reproduce comfortably.
Just think about where fingers with their pockets as a home for bugs and the underside of enhanced nails have been: up noses, in ears, babies’ nappies, and on………. Why should you have to dig this out?? Some anti-bac liquid soap on a nail brush will remove the majority (but not all!)
There are also areas in the side walls that can harbour bacteria.
How to make this easy?
- plastic brushes are very inexpensive to buy at semi bulk
- have a container of clean brushes by the washbasin
- have a container for used brushes
- at the end of the day, using liquid soap, rub 2 brushes together under running water to dislodge any debris
- soak in a good disinfectant and leave to dry overnight
- place cleaned brushes in the ‘clean’ container
- have a short instruction sheet for clients by the washbasin with advice not to brush too hard as this can break the hyponychium seal, cause another problem, and possibly even onycholysis
There are plenty of reports on the internet on what is found under nails but here is a quick and easy read: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20160622-what-lives-under-your-fingernails
Use nail scrub brushes! Don’t have to do the job of digging out goodness knows what!
